1 Peter 1:3-5 ( NKJV ) 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“Though the Lord, by electing his people, adopted them as his sons, we, however, see that they do not come into possession of this great good until they are called; but when called, the enjoyment of their election is in some measure communicated to them. For which reason the Spirit which they receive is termed by Paul both the “Spirit of adoption,” and the “seal” and “earnest” of the future inheritance; because by his testimony he confirms and seals the certainty of future adoption on their hearts.” ~ John Calvin, “Institutes of the Christian Religion” 3.24.1, A New Translation, by Henry Beveridge, Esq Volume First Edinburgh: Printed for The Calvin Translation Society M.DCCC.XLV)
It was not long after my conversion that I came to the realization that that which Christ had done in me in salvation was astounding beyond my comprehension. I was an undeserving hopeless sinner, but now an object of God’s grace. As this light permeated my consciousness the truth that I was now Christ’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) to an inheritance that was incorruptible, undefiled, will not fade away and is reserved in heaven, captured my imagination and sent me reveling in gratitude and worship for the “indescribable gift” of Christ (2 Corinthians 9:15). This, for me stood in stark contrast to my former Roman Catholic understanding. I was taught that Christ forgave my sins on the cross but did not pay for them. I would have to, in some part, expiate or be punished for my sins (ie. the sacrament of penance, based in part on the Roman Catholic doctrines of mortal and venial sins, and the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory to name a few). In light of the Scriptures I now saw that as totally depraved as I was before my salvation (Romans 3:1-23), I was now just as totally justified because of the merits of Christ on the cross and now stood in a right standing and relationship before God with an alien righteousness, the imputed righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:3-6,9; 4:4, 9; 5:7,21; 10:4, 10; Philippians 3:9). The doctrine of justification by faith alone (Romans 3:21-26; 5:19) became a precious truth that has for these many years become for me the prince of doctrines that has in great measure defined my life and ministry. I am also convinced that a proper view of justification leads to a right view of the security of the believer and visa versa.
For many in the evangelical world, the security of the believer or as the Reformers called it,” the perseverance of the saints” is not essential to a proper understanding of the gospel. I could not disagree more strongly. We weaken the doctrine of justification with a view that one can lose his or her salvation. We in essence are saying that the efficacy of the work of Christ on the cross and the declaration of righteousness in justification has its limits. It is to say that there is some action (sin) on our part that can remove us from the grace of God found in Christ Jesus. Of course this contradicts the clear declaration of Scripture (ie. John 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6). At least for me there is no way to preach the fullness of the gospel without declaring the glorious truth of the security of the believer.
2 Timothy 1:12 ( NKJV ) 12For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
So for the next several posts I will discuss this glorious truth. My goal here is not to deliver some heady theological discourse but rather to give clear sense to a cardinal truth of the faith once delivered (Jude 3). I hope it will be a blessing to you as it is for me as I stand in awe of the grace of God.
~Michael Holtzinger